"Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Napolitano before the Senate today

The following story comes from the Homeland Security Blog Watch, it briefly discusses the issue of border security that Janet Napolitano, President Elect Obama's choice for Homeland Security Secretary, detailed today before her Senate confirmation hearing. Since I first heard that Governor Napolitano was designated for the DHS role I have been excited. I think she can bring a great deal of change to the department and the issue of Border Security. I did a great deal of research in the Graduate degree classes about some of the innovated programs that State of Arizona was trying in an effort to slow down the illegal immigration that was plaguing their state.

Homeland Security Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano on Thursday highlighted her record as a border state governor before a Senate panel that seemed largely sympathetic to her confirmation.

Napolitano, Arizona’s Democratic governor, told the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that a systematic approach is needed to defend the border with Mexico, including manpower, interior enforcement and technology. “These borders are vast and manpower alone is not going to do it,” she said, also downplaying the idea that a border fence alone would do the job.

She also promised committee members to allocate resources to the northern border and would continue to pursue the idea of using the National Guard to augment border security, something she had pushed for as governor. Napolitano also said she would pursue a closer relationship with the Department of Justice in terms of pushing through the prosecutions of those employers caught hiring illegal immigrants.